“Crying Tiger,” my wife, Laura, said, running her finger down the menu

“Crying Tiger,” my wife, Laura, said, running her finger down the menu at Noodle Land in Redmond.If I had an 80’s-style glam-rock band, our first power balladaE”track six on our very first albumaE”would be called “Crying Tiger,” and it would be about a kung fu master who is sad because he’s beaten all his enemies and now has nothing to do all day but sit under a peach tree and stroke his flowing mustache. If I had a van, I would have a giant crying tiger airbrushed onto the side, its claws out, rending the steel and weeping at its own awesomeness. If I were ever to join the yakuza, the first thing I would do is get a giant crying tiger tattooed onto my back, and Tora Naki (Japanese for Crying Tiger) would be my mafia name. I would become legendary as a hunter of men and a killer who always wept for the senseless loss of life every time he shot up some Shinjuku tea shop. Someday Hollywood would make a terrible movie about it, with the part of me played by Jean-Claude Van Damme.”You seriously need to read the rest of Jason Sheehan’s review of Redmond’s Noodle Land, because that was just the beginning.Photos by Joshua Huston.Published on September 9, 2010

This is what the outside of Noodle Land looks like - so you won't miss it.

This is what the outside of Noodle Land looks like – so you won’t miss it.

Crying Tiger:Grilled sliced beef mixed with lime juice, fresh chili, onion, cilantro and Thai basil leaves or mint.

Crying Tiger:Grilled sliced beef mixed with lime juice, fresh chili, onion, cilantro and Thai basil leaves or mint.

Smiling sky closeup.

Smiling sky closeup.

Curry in the making.

Curry in the making.

Red Curry:Red curry paste and coconut milk, bamboo shoots or pineapple, bell peppers and fresh Thai basil leaves.

Red Curry:Red curry paste and coconut milk, bamboo shoots or pineapple, bell peppers and fresh Thai basil leaves.

Meet Chanwit - he is your conduit to tasty noodles at Noodle Land.

Meet Chanwit – he is your conduit to tasty noodles at Noodle Land.